Migration in Sri Lanka has seen significant growth in the past two decades, with approximately 1.7 million citizens working abroad and nearly 3 million living overseas. Despite this demographic shift, Sri Lanka’s electoral system has struggled to adapt, continuing to leave its absent voters disenfranchised.

The challenge of enfranchising migrants has been recognized by several parliamentary and presidential electoral reform committees and civil society, yet viable solutions have been elusive. This case study highlights how prospects for the enfranchisement of Sri Lanka’s migrants would require a staged approach.

This paper is part of a series of eight case studies on absent voters in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.